Month: December 2025

Post Christmas

First the workouts:
Chirstmas: weights early (pull ups: 7 sets of 6, 1 of 8), bench: 10 x 134 Swiss, 10 x 134 regular, 7 x 150
high inline: 10 x 94, 5 x 115, 5 x 110
Wagon wheel: 3 sets of 10 x 200
Walk: East Peoria: pushed Barbara on the river. Saw a hawk and an eagle.

Christmas day (Thursday) 10k course in a very pedestrian 1:38:25; just had no zip. No extra walk.

Today (Friday) 2 walks; 2 and 2.5 along the Riverfront pushing Barbara.
Pull ups: 10 singles, 10 sloppy set, then 5 sets of 6 (some of them chin ups)
Bench: 5 x 134, 16 x 134, then 3 sets of 5 x 154
high inline; 10 x 94, 2 sets of 5 x 110.

This was a challenging set.

This holiday season has tried my patience. The issue is that my wife cannot use her foot too much; she cannot drive and needs the wheel chair to go any distance. And she needs tending to (treatment). So, where most of the time, I can just do my own thing, in this holiday period, I cannot always do that. And she wants to make some decisions but cannot execute them without me. That has led to some tense conversations. She is not used to asking for permission (and does not need to if I am not directly affected or required to do something) and I am not used to care-taking.

Still, it isn’t all bad; I enjoyed her son’s visit and it would be a lite to say that I’ve been miserable the entire time. But I have been tired and haven’t had the energy to make the math videos that I had hoped to make.

And, hopefully, some fun lies ahead.

And how do retired people use up so much time?

Answer: health issues, and it takes longer to do everything. I have not done squat over the past few days and it has been time consuming.

Workout notes:
Saturday (AFTER graduation) slowish 10k walk on campus
Sunday: 2 mile walk after the game. Deadlifts before:
10 x 134, 10 x 184, 10 x 225 (low handle), 10 x 250 wagon wheel)

Monday: 2 mile walk after picking up B’s nephew at the bus stop. Dont’ ask.
Leisurely weights before: pull ups: 7 sets of 6, one of 8.
Bench: Swiss: 10 x 134, 6 x 150, 5 x 150, 5 x 150
high incline: 10 x 94, 5 x 110, 5 x 110

Today: Bradley Park usual 10K course: 1:32:35 (14:56; 1:01:10 at mile 4). Then I pushed Barbara 2.5 miles along the riverfront.

Bradley Basketball: the Men’s basketball team had a close shave win, beating Southern Illinois 73-69, after having lead by 5-9 points for most of the second half. A late SIU 3 pulled the Salukis to 71-69. They got the ball back and had a potential layup that they lost out of bounds; BU sealed the win with a pair of free throws.

By the time we got home, the Women had won at Northern Kentucky 62-61. That is their 4’th win in a row, and that includes a conference game and a tough game vs South Dakota.

And the Holidays are upon us…again

My opinion on the Holidays was not always what it is now. I remember the days as a young man, and being deployed on a submarine about this time. Then: Christmas meant breakfast with a shipmate. Sometimes it meant home leave and yes, I looked forward to that.

Now: different story. It is a break from work; that much is true.

And for some: some love the gathering of family. That is great! Some like to gather with friends: that is great too.

Some mourn the loss of loved ones who are no longer there. That is understandable and an unfortunate part of getting older.

Some get awful news: on Threads I read about people getting terribly sick (e. g. cancer), losing a job, etc.

For some: family gatherings involve exclusion, either by choice or by being shunned. That is hard.

None of the bad stuff really applies to me, though my wife broke her foot..again. That means: more caretaking, and yes, she still invited her “special needs” nephew over. I’ll cope.

But that is what I am talking about: I kind of wanted the holidays to be a respite from duties. Instead: it is a shift of duties.

It is often said that the best giving is the kind where one will never be paid back, and I am doing that now. But, I’d rather be in a position to help out than to need help.

Looking back, I actually enjoyed the COVID holiday: just my wife and me. However she missed the family gathering.

First, the workout

I slept in and did a super leisurely workout while they took down a large tree (part had fallen).

pull ups: 7 sets of 6, one of 8 (somewhat better; less cheating)
bench: 10 x 134, 4 x 154, 3 x 154 (failed rep 4), pin press 134, 6 x 150, 6 x 150 (go figure)

high incline: 10 x 94, 5 x 110, 5 x 110

walk: super slow 5 miler on campus ..well after lunch (tended to Barbara)

Last night: I watched the Bradley Women win 64-47. It was kind of ugly: 10-7 after 1, but the BU defense stayed stout. SIU shot 30 percent overall and 8 percent from 3. In the second video, you can see me in the stands, up near the top.

Then I came home and saw that the Bradley Men had a 74-71 lead on Indiana State with 1.3 seconds left:

I may have said a few swear words. But BU kept its composure and pulled away in the 3’rd overtime 108-99. And I got to watch all 3 overtimes on ESPN+

Personal note:

Tuesday the 16’th of December

One more final to give, two sets of grades to calculate and turn in, and some other chores to do.

Ok, it is now Thursday the 18’th and grades are in. I’ll probably make a couple of supplementary videos to help them with their weak areas.

Emotionally, the past few days were a roller coaster, much of it my doing.

Here are the walks:

December 12: commuter walk (2 miles)
December 13: 8.2 miles in increasingly awful conditions: 2:38:09 (19:24 pace) on campus loops.

December 14 (after basketball game): 2.27 commuter
December 15 2 mile commuter (snowy)
December 15 2 mile commuter (yuck)
December 16: Markin;lane 1 for mile 1, lane 2 the rest of the way. 50 laps: 1:26:42 for 6.25 (13:52) 14:23, 14:01, 13:50, 13:41, 13:37, 13:30, 3:34
December 17 (yesterday) 5k commuter somewhat slick
December 18 (today)6.23 at 16:42: damp; very few slick spots.

Yes, it was cold and snowy.

Weight workouts:

Sunday; some straight bar deadlifts: 10 x 134, 10 x 184, 10 x 225
Wagon Wheel: 10 x 250

Monday: pull ups (very cold) sets of 7 (one sloppy set of 10)
bench: 10 x 134 Swiss, 3 sets of 6 x 150
high incline: 10 x 94, 5 x 115, 5 x 110

Wednesday: pull ups: 9 sets of 5, one set of 6-7 trying to keep my legs together and not “cheat” by contacting the uprights
Bench: 3 sets of 10 x 134 Swiss
High incline: 10 x 94, 2 sets of 5 x 115
Wagon wheel: 3 sets if 10 x 200

Other: I went to the on campus “keep busy” basketball game vs. D3 North Central. The game wasn’t close (as expected) 86-53. But it was interesting to sit next to someone who did marathons and knew about McNaughton Park. And lots of guys got to play. Fan reaction was mixed.


Good, old fashioned anger

I didn’t sleep all that well last night and wondered if it would affect my workout.

But I had some good, old fashioned anger in me and I did ok in pull ups and on the bench press..save set 3.

pull ups (snow shovel recoveries): 5 sets of 7, one of 10, one of 7.
bench press: 10 x 134, 6 x 150, 6 x 150, 5 x 150 (failed rep 6), pin press 134 (Swiss bar)
high incline: 10 x 94, 10 x 94, 5 x 110

One good aspect

I am a bit down on my wife at the moment and the upside to that is that I have more time to write, though I really don’t have much of importance to say.

Workout wise: I was scheduled to walk hard, indoors, but elected two commuter pace walks (2 miles, 4 miles) instead. It was gentle and help me get some demons out. And it got me outside.

Ok, I might make a math post later but for now, here goes: someone I know posted this meme:

Frankly: this meme is illogical. It is entirely possible for a country to import both a lot of poor immigrants who need help AND a lot of highly skilled immigrants who take high paying jobs. Doing one does NOT preclude the other.

And, well, immigration is a touchy subject, and with good reason. The very poor ones DO eat up resources. The low-skilled ones compete for jobs and sometimes, the competition is not a fair one (though we can blame employers and lax labor law enforcement for that). Then there is the issue of assimilation: sometimes immigrants bring their customs with them (e. g. loud gatherings in residential areas).

And no, these issues are NOT new; they’ve been around for a long time.

Now let’s look at the upper end: yes, importing outlier talent can be a big help. I even see that in sports: my favorite baseball team has a LOT of international players. But an issue can arise: are we importing top talent as the expense of failing to develop existing home-grown talent? That is a genuine issue.

Let me point out that I have no good answers. I think that a well thought out immigration plan can help our country and also be a way of fulfilling a humanitarian mission. I do not know the proper level or the proper mix. I believe that good people can think about these issues in good faith and reach differing conclusions.

And the last day of the semester is here…

I’ll keep my workplace comments private.

I’ll keep my personal life comments private as well.

I’ll talk about football: Navy got the Liberty Bowl and so we are going, or at least it is “we”, for now. Tickets and room are set: Cincinnati (now a P4 team) is the opponent. It should be a good one!

I’d love to go to the Music City Bowl too (Dec 30 in Memphis) but I don’t think that I can pull it off. I’ll be happy that I can make one of these.

There was some controversy: ND was left out of the playoffs (and I can understand why…Alabama was left out last year) and so ND will stay home. Texas was disappointed too (they did beat A&M, soundly) but they will play Michigan in the Citrus.
Personally: I’d like to see an FCS model: every conference sends one team (at least) plus at large bids. 24 teams would work, and there would still be bowls for the other teams.

Workout notes: yesterday: usual weights: pull ups: 5 sets of 6, one of 10, 2 of 5. bench: 10 x 134, 3 sets of 5 x 150. High incline: 10 x 94, 5 x 115, 5 x 110. 2 mile commuter walk.

Today: 10k walk on campus. First mile was 15:41 but I still averaged 14:45 (1:32:06 for 6.24). Mostly good footing..but yes, this was much easier than my usual course.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday

I feel as if I could sleep for a year.

Walking: 2.1 mile commuter walk (somewhat slippery)
Saturday: 8.3 miles (8.04 Garmin, 8.6 Strava) Basically 14:55 mpm walking on campus. Lots and lots of loops on mostly snow free, ice free walk.

Sunday (today) 4.2 miles at 16:46, BEFORE some deadlifts.
Weights: Friday: pull ups; 7 sets of 6, one of 8
bench: 10 x 134, 5 x 150, 4 x 150, 10 x 134
high incline: 10 x 94, 4 x 115, 5 x 110

Sunday: wagon wheel: 10 x 200, 10 x 230, 10 x 250

I watched a couple of Bradley Basketball games: the men (predictably) blew out Northern Illinois. The women (predictably) blew out Chicago State.

Football: I watched Illinois St. at North Dakota State. NDSU scored on long pass on its first play from scrimmage, and I thought “the rout is on.” They also got a quick punt return for a TD…and intercepted the Redbirds FIVE times (one pick six, one run inside the Redbird 5). The Redbirds had two drives inside the 15 result in zero points.

And of course, THEY WON 29-28!!!!!